Never Satisfied

Ever grateful, never satisfied, relentlessly pursuing God for more of Himself, never taking offense. This is my motto for pursuing God. Each segment I added because I found it was necessary for my spiritual well being. Last week we looked at ever grateful, today let’s look at never satisfied. 

Why never satisfied?  I don’t mean discontent and grumbling - that’s why I added ever grateful. Pursuit without gratitude can easily lead to discontent. Not being satisfied is not about entitlement. It isn’t about being miserable. It isn’t about demanding. Never satisfied is about a holy discontent. It is rooted in the goodness and the infinite nature of God. There is always more of God to be discovered, more of God to be experienced, more of God to be encountered.  

Jesus said, in Luke 11:13, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” But in the context Jesus told them to ask and it will be given to them, seek and they will find, and knock and the door will be opened to them. The indication is a persistent pursuit of the presence of God. Why?  There is always more. He is infinite and He is a good Father.

Think about how the disciples applied this in their lives. In Acts 1 Jesus reminds the disciples of the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. He tells them to wait for the Spirit. Acts 1:14 says they were constantly in prayer as they waited. On the Day of Pentecost, Acts 2, the Spirit is poured out. They are filled with the Holy Spirit, and empowered for ministry. They preach with power. Healings occur. But they get some resistance from the leaders who killed Jesus and so the apostles are threatened. In Acts 4 they hold another prayer meeting. In the face of persecution, they don’t pray “God protect me” prayers; they pray God stretch out your hands and perform more miracles. That was what got them in trouble to begin with. And they pray give us boldness to keep preaching so we won’t shrink back. And the same group is filled with the Spirit a second time.  

They were already filled. Now they are filled again. Why?  Because there is always more of God to be experienced; there is always more of God’s power. There is always more of God’s presence. There is always more of God’s love. There are always new heights. There are always new depths.  

One of the great hindrances to the more of God is our complacency. We get some. We feel better. And we get satisfied. Our goal can’t be to feel better. Our goal has to be more. Continually, perpetually more because there is no end to God. More without unholy discontent. Ever grateful. Never satisfied. 

And another great hinderance to experiencing more of God is our capacity. We can have as much of God as we want but no more than we are willing to pay the price for and have the capacity to contain. We have to expand our capacity to experience more of the fullness of God’s presence.  

In Ephesians 3, Paul prays for the church at Ephesus. It is one of my favorite prayers. Paul writes, “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” He is praying this for believers. By definition, Christ already dwells in their hearts through faith. What is he praying for?  He is praying for more. A greater height. A greater depth. A greater experience. A greater fullness. But notice he prays they would be strengthened with power in their inner beings first. He is praying for an increase in capacity. He is praying, if you will, for thicker walls of the soul, so that they have an increased capacity for more of the Spirit’s fullness. Too often we cannot have more because we do not have capacity for more; the walls of our soul are too thin.

One of the ways our capacity for more of God increases is in the asking, seeking and knocking without complaining. Persistence is underrated in a fast speed, high tech, modern world. But it isn’t underrated with God. Persistence builds character. Persistence builds capacity. Persistence builds contrition. Character, capacity and contrition are essential for more. So passionately pursue the presence of God. There is more. More of his fullness. More of his love. More of his power. Don’t grow weary in pursuit. And as you persist in pursuit remember: Ever grateful, Never satisfied.